


Empress

by Leaves_Crown



Category: Final Fantasy XII
Genre: Empire, F/M, Love, Politics, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-04-03
Updated: 2017-12-06
Packaged: 2017-12-07 09:55:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,449
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/747179
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Leaves_Crown/pseuds/Leaves_Crown
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Penelo and Larsa have been meeting in secret for a few years now. When Penelo becomes distant, Larsa will have some hard choices to make. </p><p>Adult Larsa/Penelo</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

The whole of his court, even Basch, were in thrall. If a monster would crash this party, their eyes would still be glued to the masked dancer. She bowed deeply, face in shade, and a flash of light took away sight for a split second. And she was gone. 

Nobles, servants, they all gasped, looked around the large hall and then started applauding, screaming for her to come back. But she didn’t, and the musicians started playing their own, familiar music again at the emperor’s gesture. 

Larsa smiled. It was the best birthday gift she had ever given him. 

“Wine, Your Majesty?”

He waved the cup away and closed his eyes, reliving every movement of her dance. 

“Your Majesty, may I present my husband?”

They opened again and Larsa forced an expression of interest at the lady and her latest conquest. 

For at least an hour longer he would have to stay and watch as others celebrated for him, but then he would go to her.


	2. Farewell

Her room was adjacent to his. Not officially of course, since it was supposed to be Basch’s. But those rare nights that she visited, he would discreetly stay out of sight. 

Penelo sat on the bed, holding a cup of wine as she waited for him. No longer did she wear the mask or the flowing red dress, but the elegant nightgown that he had gifted her last year. 

Larsa took off his cape and sat down next to her, kissing her neck. “You were so beautiful tonight.”

“I hope so. I practiced for quite a while.”

“I missed you.” He put his arms around her. “My Lady.”

“I’m hardly a lady.” She kissed his lips quickly.

"You are to me." He traced his lips further down her neck. “Why did you not come sooner?”

“Got into some trouble in Rabanastre. Tried to run a business there.”

“A business?”

A smile. “You don’t want to know.”

Larsa turned her around and took off her hairclip. Blond hair splashed down, tickling his fingers. “It’s longer again.”

“You like it?” she asked. 

“Yes.” 

He took both hands in his own and studied her face. Her gaze met his, but she lowered it soon. 

“I know there’s something wrong,” he said. “Tell me.”

“Maybe we should stop this.”

A dagger in his heart, that’s how those words hit him. 

“Why?” he asked, releasing her hands. 

“I know they want you to get married. Nobles arguing about it, nervousness about the succession. They even gossip about it in my store. That it hurts your country.”

“Since when do you all care about Archadia?” he asked, a rather failed attempt at humor. 

“Whenever things go wrong here, you start messing with everyone else too.” Penelo stared off in the distance. “You are a good leader, I guess, but you have to get married.”

Larsa stood up and walked to the window. “And who would you suggest? If I marry Lady Waline Fennera, the Gustesses will stop paying taxes. If I marry a Gustesse, the Fenneras will try to secede. And if I marry the Marquise Tollinod, I will have both those families at my throat.”

Penelo got off the bed and laid her hand on his shoulder. “You’ve got to marry one. You’ve ruled for 12 years alone now, people expect an heir.”

He turned around and looked her over slowly. 

“What?” she asked, after a few moments. 

“Would you not marry me?”

She laughed bitterly. “If you want the Gustesses, Fenneras, Tollinods and every other Archadian to despise you, you should marry me.”

“There’s nothing objectionable about you,” he said fiercely. 

“Well, you’re probably the only one here who thinks so. I’m a rebellious, pirating, dancing tramp in their eyes. I speak with a weird accent and know nothing about proper manners. I’m a foreigner and have not even as much education as half the cityfolk here.”

“And this is why you have not come for ten months? Because you think we all despise you?”

She shrugged. “I know you don’t think that, but you’re Emperor here and I’m stopping you from your duty. You have to get married.”

“I have no desire to marry anyone else.”

“But you must, as I must not be your Empress.”

Penelo wrapped her arms around him tightly and rested her face against his chest. Larsa understood she was saying goodbye. He held her tightly, breathing in the smell of her hair, the feeling of her entire being. 

When they finally broke apart, he caressed her cheek. “Will you not at least stay till morning?”

“I wanted to, but I can’t. Not now we’ve said all this.” A tear fell down to his finger. 

“Penelo…” He took her hand, before she could run. “Will you be safe? You’re not going off pirating again with Vaan, are you?”

“I’m going to Jahara. Promised them I would help them set up a school.”

“If you go by morning, I can have a ship ready to…”

“That’s okay.” She held up his hand and kissed it. “Be well, Larsa.”

And then she bowed with all the grace of the dancer she was. "Farewell, Your Majesty."

Another one of those flashes, longer than the one in the ballroom, and she was gone. 

Larsa gasped and looked outside the window. He saw nothing but dark night and empty stones many floors down. His hands clenched to fists. Stalking to the bed, he took her glass and threw it at the wall, splattering wine and glass all over his room.


	3. Chief of Archadia

In the two weeks after, he spent time with every viable candidate. Young Lady Gustesse was so nervous that she spilled a bowl of broth over his shirt. The Marquesse Tollinod bored him with endless stories about her zoo and which monsters she planned to breed. A Rozarian Princess glared at him throughout a banquet in her honor, letting him know how inferior she thought his Archadian ways. Best of all of these was Lady Fennera, who did not show up at all.

Every night he sat on his large, empty bed. He was numb, devoured by loneliness and bad memories. His mother had been sick at intervals. Not physically, but mentally. His father would not come to her when she was like that and it was therefore that Vayne and he had been so far apart agewise. He missed Vayne sometimes. Vayne had been the only one who had understood his position. It had driven him away from sanity in the end. 

Larsa looked at the one broke shard he had left on his floor. If he had to go through a loveless marriage on top of everything else, would he be able to hold on? Or would madness devour him as well? 

One cold night, he looked in the mirror, at the hair that had gone thicker over the years and fell right on his shoulders. People called him handsome, but all he saw was the tired face of someone who had come into leadership far too young. 

Once more he looked at the window through which she had disappeared and made his decision.  
A push at a button even Basch did not know off and a piece of the wall swept back. In it lay a set of black clothes, a black hat and a scarf to hide his face with, as well as his sharpest rapier. For Basch he wrote a quick note about a private pilgrimage, that would buy him at least a week. But even if it took longer, he did not care too much. He was going to find Penelo no matter how long it took. 

*  
Ironically, his way out of Archadia was by boarding Lady Fennera’s airship. Like Penelo, she was a few years older than him, but with more of a sense of business. Every passenger paid and that included poor looking pilgrims. 

During the day, he kept to himself in his tiny hut. But at night he went for some fresh air. The door to the captain’s hut stood half open. Larsa heard her father complain to her. 

“A pilgrimage. So he can decide on who to marry. Is he touched like his mother?”

Larsa felt his skin crawl with dislike for the old man. In court he was always the most affable and laidback, but that was clearly all an act. 

Her answer surprised him, though. “If His Highness finds that of need, who are we to criticize him?”

“Our pedigree goes back further than his. When Archadia was not even an empire, we already sat in the senate.

“For generations and generations and yet more,” she replied. “I know, father.”

“Then you should know that we need you to marry him. No more running around with pilots and officers. Do you hear me?”

“Do not speak to me like that. I’m a captain myself, do I need reminding you? This ship was my mother’s and it’s mine now. You are but guest here.”

For a moment nothing was said, and Larsa imagined him hitting her. His sudden laughter disproved him. “Impudent girl.”

“Always father.”

They laughed a bit more, but then Lord Fennera grew serious again. “The problem is we can’t have him marry into any other noble family. They’ll have our heads once they get that kind of power.”

She sighed. “I know that.”

“So try harder, for all our sakes.”

Larsa hid in the shadow and watched him get out of the captain’s hut. When the old man had disappeared below deck, Larsa made his move and snuck into her hut. Her hand reached for her dagger, but he threw back his hood. 

“Your Majesty!” She sank into a deep reveree. 

“Get up,” he said, not unkindly. “You’ve never been good at that.”

She raised herself, but still looked nervous. 

“I heard all of that, in case you were wondering.”

The lady bowed her head, her short brown hair just covering her face. “Forgive us, Your Majesty.”

“I can’t say I’m well pleased with your father, but I heard nothing from you that caused anger.”

“You are not insulted that I only wish to marry you for such reasons?”

He sat down on a wooden bench. “You don’t want to marry me at all, but for fear of other houses.”

“That is true, Your Majesty.”

“And what if I married a woman who is not your enemy?”

“Does such a woman exist?”

“Perhaps outside Archadia?” he said. 

Her intelligent eyes flashed. “That might work. If she’s not Rozarian.”

“She isn’t. We have an understanding then?”

“Yes.”

“In that case, I will ask for your assistance as a friend.”

“You shall have it.”

They drank a cup of wine together and he listened to her ship’s encounter with a Rozzarian a few years back. Larsa nodded and smiled at the right times, but wondered if she would have so easily consented to help him if she had known his intended was a commoner and an ex-pirate at that.

*

Rabanastre had flourished. Most of its war scars had been erased, though he saw monuments too. He had only come here on official business, to meet Queen Ashelia. This was the first time he could wander through the streets anonymously. 

Fennera’s airship had arrived in the evening, so he took a room in the inn near the south gate. He sweated, but kept his cloak on while he ate dinner in the hall. Some people peeked at him, but shady travelers were not uncommon here, and most did not care to get into fights with them. 

Renting a chocobo was more expensive than he remembered, but he guessed Penelo would be pleased if he contributed a little to the local economy, so he paid without bargaining. 

When he was out of sight of the guards, he threw his cloak off and rolled it up. The chocobo ran well, and the breeze cooled his face. 

“Faster,” he whispered at the animal. 

Something grasped at him, but they had passed the ogre before he could even draw his dagger. 

It had been a long time since he had felt this free. Perhaps if he had not been so anxious to see Penelo, he would have enjoyed it more. He smiled as he imagined her surprise. If only she was still there. 

He arrived at Jahara before noon. It had changed. Not nearly as much as Rabanastre, but a few tents had been set up that had not been there before. 

A few garif played a boardgame in open air. He waved at them and they acknowledged him with nods. Their chief stood watching over youngsters tending the majestic nanna. Larsa jumped off his chocobo and bowed for him. 

“Greetings, Chief of Archadia.”  


“Chief of Jahara,” Larsa replied. “I greet you well.”

“You have come alone?”

“Yes. I wish to talk to my old friend, Penelo.”

“She is here.” 

Larsa waited a moment and then asked, “Where?”

“In the plains beyond us. She returns at nightfall.”

“She has been building a school?” Larsa asked, after another pause. 

“Yes. But before we accept her as teacher, she needs to learn of our ways.”

“So, you have her shepherd the Nanna?” Larsa asked. 

“Amongst other things.”

Larsa suppressed a grin. He wondered if Penelo had expected this. 

“You are welcome to wait for her here, Chief of Archadians.”

“I thank you, Chief of Jahara.”

He walked back to those who had played the boardgame and spent the afternoon learning the rules from the friendly teenagers. It was a slow game, fit for the Garif. Perhaps some of the older merchants in his country would enjoy it too, but he doubted it would be a hit amongst the younger hedonistic crowd. 

The sun set, yet Penelo did not return. Nobody acted worried, but garif had different habits and concerns. What if she had fallen off a cliff somewhere trying to…whatever it was the garif required of her? Larsa paced around the fire. Not even the boardgame could distract him now. 

Two hours after sunset, right when he was to go out to search for her, he saw a single lantern making its way back. Soon he recognized that it was a party of four; one hume and three garif. 

Penelo laughed, telling them a story, while the garif listened benignly. Wearing pelts like them, the only thing she lacked was a mask. 

She had not seen him yet. 

His lips tightened. She had said goodbye to him those weeks back in his capital. Perhaps his presence here would be wholly unwelcome. 

Her gaze fixed on him and her eyes widened. “Larsa,” she whispered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love Jahara and all the history it has. It seemed like the perfect place for them to meet again. 
> 
> Next time: Larsa renews his suit.


	4. The Tent

“Hello.”

They both walked towards each other, but stopped at some distance. 

“Is something the matter?” she asked, nervously. 

“Yes, I…”

“Did someone get hurt? Will there be a war again?”

“No.” He shook his head. “If I can help it.”

“Then what is it?”

Her companions lingered nearby, perhaps suspicious of him. 

“Can we talk somewhere, privately?”

“I have a tent.” She gestured at the one nearest the gate. 

“That will do.”

He followed her inside. In it stood a cot and a chest with her human clothes. 

“Why did you come?” she asked, without inviting him to sit. 

“Last time you told me why you should not be empress.”

She avoided his gaze. “Those reasons still count.”

“Perhaps, but now I will tell you why you should.”

Her eyebrows went up. “That will be a short list.”

“Not that short.”

“Well?” she asked, folding her hands together. 

“First, you are not Archadian, so it will not add to faction warfare. Some republicans would actually be pleased to have a commoner rule beside me. You are kind, you like building schools, many would learn to love you over time. You don’t have the arrogance that makes people hate. It would strengthen ties with Dalmasca. Your Queen would be pleased.”

“Would she?” Penelo said and smiled nervously.

“She might not say it, but I am sure she will.” He smiled back. 

“It does not seem all that much.”

“May I finish?”

“Yeah.”

“I’ve always ever loved only you.”

Penelo swallowed and crossed her arms over her chest. “You’ve never told me that before.”

“You knew though, didn’t you?” He stepped closer and looked down on her. “You knew.”

“I guessed.” She sighed deeply. “But Larsa, I don’t think I can be empress.”

“But you’d marry me? If I were not emperor, would you?”

“You are emperor.”

He grabbed her shoulders. “But if I weren’t?”

She looked him deep into his eyes. “Yes.”

Larsa sighed and let go off her. “I will abdicate.”

Seconds passed as she gaped at him. “Huh?”

“You say you would marry me if I were not emperor, so I shall not be.”

“Now, wait a minute…” It was her turn to grab his shoulders. “Are you crazy?”

“No. It is very logical if you think about it.”

“But you must be emperor.” 

“Then you must be empress.”

She shook her head. “You’re mad. All your people are.”

Larsa shrugged. “Maybe, but you’ve come to love me. And if you can love me, you can love us all. That’s an old wisdom. ”

“Wisdom? You’re mad, I tell you. What would Vaan say of this?”

“Maybe you can convince him not to steal from our ships anymore.”

Penelo burst into nervous laughter. “My first act as Empress?”

“Why not?”

“I could do something about your theatres too. Your plays are all so old fashioned.”

“There you are It's settled.” Larsa gently took the pelts of her shoulder, exposing her breasts. He took one in each hand, rubbing them until she moaned. 

“Larsa,” she said, with that voice that always heated him up. “I’ve missed you.”

“Yes.”

Never before this night, had he made love to her quite this unhurriedly. Nobody here cared though, nobody tried to spy. For one night they could just pretend to be travelers, far away from any humes or worries. 

She opened up to him like a wild flower under his touch. He guessed she had been just as bothered by the long starving of intimacy as he had. What he would never ask was if she had had others in those months when she had flown over the world. It was best not to know. 

They dozed off, woke and had sex once more. Sated and tired, she nestled in his arms. But after minutes, her body grew tense again. Larsa kissed her damp hair. 

“You’re nervous, aren’t you?”

She nodded, burying her face in his shoulder. 

“If you’ll be with me, I will do everything I can to make sure you will feel at home in my lands. So will Basch. And you can have one or two Dalmascan ladies-in-waiting if that pleases you.” 

“Ladies-in-waiting.” The concept alone sounded foreign to her. 

“Yes. And perhaps start with a charity.”

Her finger traced over his naked chest. “I would like to work with kids.”

“Done. I’ll have my secretaries send you a list. You can choose one that you begin with while you are still my fiancée.”

“Should I go back to Dalmasca?”

He thought for a moment. “Not yet. I will go and discuss it with Ashe. It would be helpful if she gives you a title and upgrade your stay here to a diplomatic mission. It will give you more cachet when you arrive in Archedia.”

“You are good at such things.”

“It’s what I was taught since I was a toddler. But you are good with other issues. You are far more streetwise than me. Micro economy, urban sociology; you are far more experienced in that than any of my advisors. ”

“I guess.” She rolled away and sat on the edge of the bed. “I will stay here then. And start studying Archadian history if you send me some books.”

“When do you want to get married?” he asked. “In the winter?”

“Spring. We can have flowers everywhere.”

He pulled her blanket over himself. “Two more months here. A month in Dalmasca and then I will present you to my people as my future wife and empress.”

“I’ll have to tell Vaan soon. And my shop.”

“You will have to sell it.”

She folded her hands together. “I’m afraid, Larsa.” 

“I know.” He took her hand. “But it’s better than losing you.”

“And you seem to think you can fight the whole world on this if need be.”

“Even if so, we will and win.”

“No, we can’t. We can only do this with support,” Penelo said, and for the first time since he had met her all those years ago, she seemed terrified.

Larsa squeezed her hand. “Which we shall get.”

“I hope so.”


	5. The Queen of Dalmasca

Queen Ashe leaned back in her sofa and closed her eyes. It had been a long day for the both of them. A visit by the Archadian Emperor to Rabanastre meant hours of ceremonies, introductions and revising trade agreements. Representatives of guilds all wanted to be presented. A few people protested, still remembering the Archadian invasion, while a young man made a mad dash to be able to give the Queen a petition and had to be restrained.

It was past midnight when they could spend some time alone. High up the tower of Ashe’s palace, they had closed the door behind them for a private chat. Both of them ignored the bottle of wine on the table between them, knowing that would make them even more sleepy.

“Shall I open the window?” Larsa asked.

“Please.”

He twisted the handle and opened it wide. It was warm in Rabanastre as always, and the lack of wind had made today even more of an ordeal. Yet a breeze set in now and played with the curtains as soon as Larsa let it in.

“How’s Basch?” she asked.

“Well. He would have send his regards, if he had known I would be visiting you.”

“Send mine in return, please.”

“Of course.”

They were both quiet for a few moments, but she watched him carefully.

“So, why are you really here?” Ashe asked.

“Penelo and I will get married and I hoped you could give her a title to make her more acceptable to my people.”

Ashe stared at him.

“It would be of great service to me,” Larsa added, a bit unnerved by the expression on her face.

“You are getting married.”

“Yes.”

“To Penelo,” she stated.

“That is right.”

“Our Penelo?”

He nodded.

Ashe grabbed the corkscrew. It seemed like the wine wasn’t going to be untouched after all. He waited until she poured herself a glass and took a big gulp.

“Larsa,” she said softly. “Are you sure that’s wise?”

“I have thought it over carefully, but we love each other.”

She gave him a sad smile. He must have sounded so incredibly naïve to her.

“I have never loved another woman. It has always been her,” he said. “I cannot marry anyone else. It would not be right.”

“I can name twelve Archadian families that would be insulted by this at this moment. More probably if I have a little more time to think.”

“They would be insulted whoever I married if she is not of their line,” Larsa replied.

For a good while Ashe said nothing. She took two more sips of her wine and then put the glass down. “Do you wonder why I never remarried?”

“I have, yes.”

“It was not just honouring the memory of Rasler, especially as the years went by. There has been nobody who I think equal to the task. They would have to be perfect in every way, but never know the joy of ruling.”

“You find joy in it?” Larsa asked.

She smiled. “I do.”

“You do it well.” It was true. Ashe was strong, mentally and physically. Her people loved their proud, yet benevolent Queen.

“Thank you.” She took off the tight bracelet she had been wearing. Larsa saw the skin underneath was raw. Ashe was willing to suffer to project majesty. Penelo wouldn’t want to suffer for that, but she would for him.

“I offered to abdicate,” Larsa said, ill-at-ease.

Ashe frowned. “Did you?”

“She declined.”

“Of course she would.”

No need to explain that. Penelo was well known for her gentle nature.

“Penelo is smart. If she had been raised differently, she would have been able to do well in school. But Larsa, it is going to be hard to get the necessary education now. She will always make mistakes in what we call etiquette, but she could learn. This marriage will have to wait until she at least has been trained. After I give her the title, she will need to stay at court here for a bit.”

“So you will help me?”

“Of course I will.” She suddenly had a mischievous sparkle in her eyes. “Archadia getting a Dalmascian Empress… my councillors will have a field day with this.”

“I’m glad it amuses you.” But Larsa couldn’t keep from smiling either. 

“I have one condition, though. If Penelo doesn’t take to it, and gets unhappy, you will let her go.”

He bowed his head, hating the idea of losing her. “I promise.”

“Does she want children?” Ashe asked.

“We haven’t talked about it yet.”

“Then do. If she becomes Empress your people will expect an heir. She probably knows that, but it needs to be discussed between the two of you.”

“Anything else, my Queen?”

She gave him a look. “I say all this as your friend.”

“I know that. Thank you.”

And he was grateful, for Ashe had advised him well for more than a decade. Older and more mature, she was the only one whom he could talk to in this way about ruling. Perhaps Penelo would advise him like this as well. The idea of sitting together in a room after a tiring day, talking freely appealed to him.

“It’s going to be tough, Larsa, but I will back you up.”

“Won’t your people be annoyed at you giving a commoner a title?”

Ashe made a dismissive gesture. “It would be unjust for them to feel that way. After all, Penelo saved them all.”

“That she did.”

“Now, I will set things in motion. Come back in two months and she will be attending court in her new function. You may court her then.”

“Two months…” Larsa repeated.

“I thought you were known for your patience.”

“I will do as you advise me,” Larsa said. “Is there some service I might do for you in return.”

“Lower the import tax on our fine linen?” she suggested. He knew she was only half-joking.

“I’ll consider it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've never been this long between updates. Four and a half years is quite a lot. I've always liked this pairing and remember starting this story fondly. I wonder if anyone who ever read it might see it again :) I guess this is a small fandom though, especially compared to some of the other fandoms I'm in.


End file.
